Project Management Principles

Outcome 1
Demonstrate knowledge of project
management principles.
Knowledge and/or Skills
1. Project management terms and concepts
2. Project manager skills
3. Issues affecting project teams
4. The project life cycle
5. Project management software

Introduction to Project Management

Objectives
Demonstrate knowledge of
1. Explain Project management  terms and
concepts
2. Discuss issues affecting project teams
3. Illustrate The project life cycle
4. Project management software
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Introduction to Project Management

Project 

 On time
 On budget
 Meeting the goals that
have been agreed upon
Project ​management 

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Project management

• Project management is the discipline of managing a series of tasks

within a given amount of time and within a budget.
WHAT IS A PROJECT?

• A project is an activity that :

• is temporary having a start and
end date
• is unique
• brings about change
• has unknown elements, which
therefore create risk
• Generally projects are formed to solve
a problem or take advantage of an
opportunity.
• Business as usual activities can often be
mistaken for projects.
• Generally it is the uniqueness of the
activity that is the deciding factor – do
we do this every year? If so, then it is
not truly a project – although you can
use project methods to get it done.
• A clear and accurate project definition is critical to
the success of a project. The definition process
consists of setting clearly defined objectives,
determining the key success criteria and
evaluating the risks involved. The final outcome
should be a Project Definition document,
sometimes referred to as a Project Charter.
• The Project Definition should include a statement
of the business need that the project aims to
address and a description of the product, service
or other deliverables that will be its output.
• A task is an activity that needs to be accomplished within a
defined period of time. Tasks are generally pieces of work
that require effort and resources and have a concrete
outcome or deliverable.

• In theory a task can be of any size. Indeed, a project could be

regarded as a very large task. However, the term task is
normally used to refer a smaller piece of work.

• The deliverables from many small tasks may be combined

together to create the deliverable for a larger task. For
example, a project manager may be allocated the task of
producing a project plan. This task may involve obtaining
information from a number of people.
Resource
Resources can be defined as the personnel, equipment, materials and services required
to complete tasks in a project.
1. Personnel are the people employed to the organisation to work on a project or task.
2. Equipment is the machinery allocated to the project, whether mechanical or
electronic, eg engineering machines, computers.
3. Materials are the property that may be included in or attached to a deliverable or
consumed or expended in performing a task. They include assemblies, components,
parts, fuels and lubricants, raw and processed materials, and small tools and
supplies.
4. Services are areas where labour is expended without producing a tangible
commodity, eg accounting, secretarial or legal services.
Schedule​
• A schedule is a timeline of events and activities which can be
used as an operating timetable. It can be presented on a
calendar framework or on an elapsed time scale and
specifies the occurrence, times of events and the relative
start and finish times of activities.

• The schedule specifies the timing and sequence of tasks

within a project, as well as the project duration. It consists
mainly of tasks, dependencies among tasks, durations,
constraints and time-oriented project information.

• A display of project time allocation, in the form of

milestones, deliverables, activities or Gantt charts, is often
referred to as the project schedule.
Risk Analysis and Risk Management​
• A risk is an event, which is uncertain and has a negative impact on
some activity.
• Risk analysis is the process of quantitatively or qualitatively
assessing risks. It involves estimating both the uncertainty of the risk
and its impact.
• Risk management is the use of risk analysis to devise management
strategies to reduce risk.
• In project management, these techniques are used to address the
following questions:
1. Will the project go over schedule? (Schedule Risk)
2. Will the project overrun its budget? (Cost Risk)
3. Will the output of the project fail to satisfy the goals? (Performance
Risk)
Risk Analysis and Risk Management​ Schedule
Risk
• Schedule risk is the risk that the project takes longer than
scheduled. It can lead to cost risks, as longer projects always cost
more, and to performance risk, if the project is completed too late to
perform its intended tasks fully. Apart from the cost estimation and
resource allocation used in CPM, most of the techniques used in
quantitative cost risk analysis are different from those used in
schedule risk analysis.
• The earliest technique used for schedule risk analysis was the Gantt
chart, developed by Henry Gantt in 1917. A Gantt chart gives a
graphical summary of the progress of a number of project activities
by listing each activity vertically on a sheet of paper, representing
the start and duration of each task by a horizontal line and then
representing the current time by a vertical line. This makes it easy to
see where each activity should be and to show its current status. 
Risk Analysis and Risk Management
Schedule Risk
• Gantt charts are not a good method of showing
the interrelationship between tasks, so computers must be used to
set up and maintain the network of tasks. One commonly-used
technique is Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) which
uses a detailed diagram of all anticipated tasks in a project,
organised into a network to represent the dependence of each task
on those that must precede it.
• PERT can be used to analyse the tasks involved in completing a
project, especially the duration of each task, and identify the
minimum time needed to complete the total project. PERT makes it
possible to schedule a project without knowing the precise details
and durations of all the activities.
Risk Analysis and Risk Management
Schedule Risk
• The Critical Path Method (CPM) is a similar project planning and
management technique which also uses a network representation.
Earlier versions did not try to estimate probability distributions for
task durations, making it easier to derive the critical path, ie the set
of tasks that determined the final project length. Various
enhancements were made to CPM to allow alternative resource
allocations to be explored, within specified cost constraints.
• The increasing availability of computing power allowed led to the
inclusion of probability distributions for task durations in CPM. This
allowed Monte Carlo simulation to be substituted for the PERT
assumptions. (Monte Carlo simulations are a type of algorithm used
to simulate the behaviour of systems. They are described
as stochastic or nondeterministic because they are based on the use
of random numbers. A stochastic model is a method of estimating
probability distributions of potential outcomes by allowing for
random variation in one or more inputs.)
Cost Risk
Cost risk is the risk that the project costs more than budgeted. It can
lead to performance risk if cost overruns lead to reductions in scope or
quality. Cost risk can also lead to schedule risk if the schedule is
extended because not enough funds are available to complete the
project on time.

The main technique used for cost analysis of complex projects is

based on the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) which organises
project tasks into hierarchical stages or phases.

WBS is a project management technique for defining and organising

the total scope of a project using a hierarchical tree structure. The first
two levels, known as the root node and Level 2, define a set of planned
outcomes representing the entire project scope. At each subsequent
level, the children of a parent node represent the entire scope of their
parent node.
• The scope of a project is the sum total of all project products and their
requirements or features. Sometimes scope is used to refer to the totality
of work needed to complete a project.
• In traditional project management, the tools to describe a project's scope
are the product breakdown structure and product descriptions.
• If requirements are not completely defined and described and if there is
no effective change control in a project, scope or requirement creeps may
occur.
• Creep is a problem that occurs in project management where the initial
objectives of the project are placed in jeopardy by a gradual increase in
overall objectives as the project progresses.
• The requirements of the new objectives can exceed the resources
allocated to the project resulting in the project missing deadlines,
overrunning budgets or failing completely.
• Scope Creep refers to uncontrolled changes in a project's scope. It can
happen when the scope of a project is not properly defined, documented
and controlled and can result in time or budget overruns.
 QUIZ – ARE THESE PROJECTS?

 Building a deck Yes No

 Implementing a new system Yes No
 Mowing the lawn Yes No
 Planning a wedding Yes No
 Planning a fundraiser Yes No
 Planning a student graduation Yes No
 COMMON PROJECT TERMS
• Deliverables: Tangible ‘things’ that the project produces
• Milestones: Dates by which major activities are
performed.
• Tasks: Also called Actions. Activities undertaken during
the project
• Risks: Potential problems that may arise
• Issues: Risks that have happened
• Gantt Chart: A specific type of chart showing time and
tasks. Usually created by a Project Management program
like MS Project.
• Stakeholder: Any person or group of people who may be
affected by your project
 EXAMPLE: Building a deck
• Deliverables: A plan, a consent form, the deck
• Milestones: Plan drafted 1 Jun
Plan approved 15 Jun
Plan submitted 16 Jun
Plan approved 19 Jun
Materials purchased 16 Jul
Resources booked 16 Jul
Equipment identified 16 Jul
Deck constructed 20 Jul
Deck tested 24 Jul
Deck quality approved 24 Jul
“Deck warming” completed 28 Jul

tasks Subtasks
• Tasks Plan drafted Requirement gathered
: Best practice researched
Draft 1 prepared
Distributed to stakeholders
Plan approved Feedback gathered
Amendments
made Final plan
prepared
Distributed to stakeholders
Sign-off obtained
WORK-BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE
 WBS
 Hierarchy of tasks required to complete project
 Each task is broken into smaller tasks that can
be managed and estimated
 Define task dependencies
▪ Some tasks must begin at the same time,
some must end at the same time and some
cannot start until the other tasks have
finished.
 Estimate task durations and cost
 May be inputted into project management
software
• Final WBS plan is called baseline WBS
• Risks:
• Plan is not approved after first round of feedback
• Resources are not available at the required time
• Plan is not given consent
• For each of the above, you should have a contingency plan, or do
some activity that may prevent it happening in the first place.

• Issues:
– If any of the above actually happens, then it becomes an issue
to solve.

• Gantt Chart:

• Stakeholder:
– House owner, Builder, Council,
???
A successful Project Manager must simultaneously
manage the four basic elements of a project:
resources, time, money, and most importantly,
scope.
All these elements are interrelated. Each must be
managed effectively. All must be managed together
if the project is to be a success. The resource that
can be leveraged to the greatest extent in all
projects is the people involved.
THE PROJECT MANAGER
A person with a diverse set of skills –
management, leadership, technical, conflict
management, and customer relationship –
who is responsible for:
– initiating,
– planning,
– executing,
– controlling,
– monitoring,
– and closing down a project.
Project Managers are essentially jugglers. They must make
sure that everything keeps to task, that potential issues are
quickly eliminated and the project is delivered on time, all the
while making sure everyone knows what is happening and
the project quality and budget are acceptable. Specifically
they:

 direct all activities required to successfully

meet the project objectives
 manage risk – scanning ahead for potential
issues and resolving them before they become
a problem
 solve problems - recommending alternative
approaches to problems that arise and
providing guidance to the Project Sponsor
 track and report project progress
 communicate to all stakeholders in the
project
PROJECT INITIATION con’t

- Constraints
- Costs/Budget
- Resources
- Deliverables
- Phases & Time Scales
- Strategy
- Risks
- Roles & Responsibilities
• Ultimately responsible for the
Project’s Success
• Plan and Act
• Focus on the project’s end
• Be a manager & leader
PROJECT INITIATION
The Initiation phase of the project is the
most important phase. The success of the
entire project depends on how clearly and
completely the Terms of References are
established.
– Project Sponsor
– Lines of Authority
– Participants
– Objectives
CHARACTERISTICS OF PROJECTS
• A project contains a well defined
objective. The project objective is
defined in terms of scope ( or
requirements), schedule, and cost.
• A project is carried out via a set of
interdependent tasks.
• A project uses various resources to
carry out these tasks.
• A project has a definite start date and
an expected completion date. The
actual completion date may not
always be the same as the expected
date.
• A project is a one time or unique
endeavor.
• A project has a customer.
• So why do projects fail?
WHY DO PROJECTS FAIL?
1. Poor project and program
management discipline
2. Lack of executive-level
support
3. Wrong team members
4. Poor communication
5. No measures for evaluating the
success of the project
6. No risk management
7. Inability to manage change
A project has a degree of UNCERTAINTY. In
project planning many assumptions are made
regarding:

• access to resources.
• resource capability.
• impact of environmental factors.

• These assumptions are not always

accurate.
• Requires project managers to re-assess and
trade-offs between requirements, costs, and
time. Above all, be PRO-ACTIVE.
MEASURING PROJECT SUCCESS
We measure the success of a project
using 4 major project constraints,
specifically:
– Scope.
– Cost.
– Schedule (Time).
– Customer satisfaction (quality and
performance).
PROJECT CONSTRAINTS
• Project scope – Have all the project
requirements (i.e., deliverables) been
completed?
• Project cost – Is the cost of the project
close to the amount the customer has
agreed to pay?
• Schedule – Was the project
completed on time?
• Customer satisfaction – Is the customer
happy with the quality of the project?
PROJECT SUCCESS – 12 Golden Rules
 Rule #1
Thou shalt gain consensus on project
outcome.
 Rule #2
Thou shalt build the best team
possible.
 Rule #3
Thou shalt develop a comprehensive,
viable plan and keep it up-to-date.
 Rule #4
Thou shalt determine how much stuff
you really need to get things done.
 Rule #5
Thou shalt have a realistic schedule.
 Rule #6
Thou won’t try to do more than can
be done.
 Rule #7
Thou will remember that people
count.
 Rule #8
Thou will gain the formal and
ongoing support of management and
stakeholders.
 Rule #9
Thou must be willing to change.
 Rule #10
Thou must keep others informed of
what you’re up to.
 Rule #11
Thou must be willing to try new
things.
 Rule #12
Thou must become a leader.